Belfast

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Saturday 4th October

After sailing overnight we arrived in Belfast around noon. We had organised to be picked up from the docks by a black cab to take a short tour. The six of us all squeezed in the cab, escaping the heavy rain. We had decided to take the political cab tour that explained the conflict between the protestants and the catholics in the area.

The tour stopped to allow us to walk around some of the famous murals painted on the buildings, the murals visually depict the story of the conflict and suffering. One mural had a gun barrel that followed you as you walked past, quite surreal.

We also saw the city barrier that had been erected to divide the catholic and protestants areas, the driver explained how the wall had been extended in height twice to stop the bombs form being thrown over. We found it difficult to imagine living in such conditions, wondering when a bomb may be thrown at your home and family.

None of us had realised just how divided the city still was. We were told the gates between the walls are closed each night and some gates where closed all weekend, dividing the city in two. We viewed houses near the walls that had steel cages in the backyards to stop bombs from hitting the house.

The driver also showed us a rubber bullet that until recently had been utilised by the police to break-up fighting, the bullet was very large and had been known to kill if accidently fired in the wrong place. We felt saddened by the stories our driver told us of the difficulties faced by protestants and catholics alike, it was good to hear the cease fire had been in place for quite some time and we all hoped it would continue.

The taxi dropped us off at the Merchant Hotel for afternoon tea, it was a beautifully decorated hotel with the dining area decorated in gold gilding, cherubs and chandeliers, it felt very far removed form the troubled areas we had just toured.

The others in our group decided to get a taxi back to the ship while Ron and I decided to find one of the most famous pubs in Belfast, the Crown Liquor Saloon. The Crown is the only pub in the world that is owned and run by the national trust and Ron found a great traditional ale being served. The pub was located opposite the most bombed hotel in Europe, the Hotel Europa, where dignitaries and heads of state usually stay, luckily no one had been killed during any of the bombings.

We finished off our day with a ride on the Belfast wheel, which is very similar to the London Eye. The wheel allowed us to view the lovely colonial buildings located around the city square while listening to a commentary on the history of the town.

We were lucky to find a free bus making it easy to get back home to the QE2. On the bus there were two elderly gentlemen that had spent the day exploring in and around Belfast on their own by train and foot and told us they had had a great day out, we only hope we would have the same stamina and sense of spirit at their age.

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